Concept:A project by Stef Lemmens and Elke Cuppens in which a ladder was placed in between two companies of Quartier Canal (the industrial zone of Hasselt). The supervisors of each company was invited for a three course vegan meal, made by a local food enthusiast Door De Swert.
After each course the guests had to ascend one step on the ladder to receive the next meal. In our first try-out we invited Dries Pierre from nightclub Muziekodroom and Ward Dumon from repair service Servilux to enjoy their lunch break together.
Normally they only meet for business talk, but within the playful atmosphere of 'Step by Step' they were able to talk about the unspoken. By climbing their way up to the dessert, they literally get closer to each other.
After the COVID-19 lockdown we decided to use this ladder once again. We invited people for a dinner night with a friend they hadn’t seen in a long time. The-first-course-table happened to be around 1.
5 meters long which is the distance we were meant to keep from each other during the pandemic. With this ladder friends were able to connect with each other again, step by step. Material:All the wood is upcycled from companies in Quartier Canal, an industrial site where our atelier is located.
In this way, we can give the material back to the companies in a new form and concept. Waste wood made into a tool to connect the pre-owners. Origin:Elke her master research at LUCA School of Arts is about the act of eating and how the act of eating can create space for new relations by adding different playful actions to it.
The idea of Step by Step arose while we, Stef Lemmens and Elke Cuppens, were just climbing and sitting on a normal ladder and imagining people giving us a tea on top of the ladder.
We directly searched for some wood and made the idea into a working model. (cr)eating space for new relations:Step by Step is now part of '(cr)eating space for new relations' and set up in the front garden of Maison Florida, an artist-run space from The School (a non-profit organisations) where we both have an atelier.
This space gave us the freedom, material and tools to create whatever what's on your mind. '(cr)eating space for new relations' explores the border between a restaurant, expo and playground.
A bundle of eating installations challenges visitors to dine together and perform atypical actions in the process. These actions raise questions about our dependency and proximity.
Step by Step is part of this collection of eating-installations. '(cr)eating space for new relations' forms the master project of Elke.
